


Books and Crannies

by frecklesarechocolate



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bookstore, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-10-05
Updated: 2013-11-06
Packaged: 2017-12-28 11:17:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/991403
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/frecklesarechocolate/pseuds/frecklesarechocolate
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gabriel works for Cas, who owns a bookshop called <em>Books and Crannies</em>. Gabriel's in love with a hot, very tall customer, who asks him out for coffee one day. Turns out the hot customer has a hot brother.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, I started this back in April as a fic gift for [Kaytee](http://lifetimeinfinity.tumblr.com) for her birthday. The first part was meant to be Sabriel, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized it could be a story about Sabriel and Destiel, and I haven't done that yet, not really. Anyway, if you're interested in the original post, it's [here](http://lifetimeinfinity.tumblr.com/post/47273385268/a-happy-birthday-sabriel-ficlet-for-kaytee-au-happy). Thanks to Lis and Ten for being awesome betas, as always.

**Gabriel**

Gabriel’s life has been uninteresting up until this point. He gets up in the morning, goes into work, deals with the customers, bickers with his brother (who also happens to be his boss, and he’s perfectly fine with that. Really.), and then goes home at the end of the day. He’ll have some dinner and a lot of dessert, have a couple of beers, go to bed and start all over again the next day. 

Until, that is, the day that he walks into the bookshop.

He’s at least ten, no, twenty feet tall of pure yummy, from his too long hair all the way down to his enormous hands and clown-sized feet. His smile lights up the room, hell, the entire freaking building, and Gabriel’s pretty sure that the man is packing a serious set of muscles underneath all those layers.

And oh my god, the layers. Oh so many layers of plaid and flannel and Henley, and it should be a crime to cover up what must be miles of muscle and taut, tanned skin. 

“You’re drooling again,” Cas says dryly.

Gabriel snaps his attention to his (little) brother, standing next to him at the checkout counter. “What? No, I’m not,” Gabriel says as he wipes his mouth surreptitiously. Cas just smirks at him. Little brothers are so obnoxious sometimes. 

“Just try not to get any on the books, okay?” Cas pats Gabriel’s arm and heads toward the back of the store to do whatever fancy-pants owner-type stuff Cas does in the office back there. Gabriel’s been working for Cas in his bookstore, _Books and Crannies_ , for the last 6 months or so. It was supposed to be temporary, just a few weeks, but the weeks turned into a month, which turned into several more months, and now Gabriel’s been here so long that he’s sure he’s growing moss.

On the other hand, he actually kind of likes working in the shop. First of all, it’s a good gig, his brother is a good boss, and the customers are pretty nice. And then there’s hot gigantor, who has been coming into the shop for the last month or so on a pretty regular basis. He always goes back to the history section and browses for a long time, almost an hour, and then he’ll pick up one book and come up to the front of the shop to pay for it. Gabriel’s been sure to be the one to cash him out every time he’s been in the shop in the hopes of catching the guy’s name, getting a peek at a credit card, anything, to get to know something about the guy, but no go, he always pays in cash. 

Gabriel sighs and leans on his palm, elbow on the countertop. He has a pretty good view of the history section from the checkout counter at the front (he always is sure to man the register with the perfect line of vision), and he could watch hot gigantor for hours if he were given the chance. Just as he settles in for a good long stare, the phone buzzes.

Gabriel answers with his most cheerful “ _Books and Crannies,_ can I help you?” 

“You should really say ‘how may I help you,’ Gabriel. Do me a favor and pay attention to all the customers, not just the giant in the history section, okay?” says Cas on the other end. 

“Yes, yes, fine,” Gabriel says, and he hangs up. He’s not able to resist sticking his tongue out at the phone.

There’s a chuckle, and Gabriel looks up. His cheeks immediately flush hot and bright red, because standing right in front of him is hot gigantor, and he’s smiling. “You always stick your tongue out at inanimate objects?” he asks, and his voice is mellow and deep. The sound skitters along Gabriel’s nerves and settles in his belly warmly.

Gabriel swallows, mouth suddenly dry. “N-no, that was just my brother, being obnoxious as usual.” 

Gigantor’s eyebrows rise up. “Yeah? My brother can be pretty annoying too. Is yours older?” 

“Nah, I’m the older one. He’s just smarter than I am.”

Gigantor’s eyes turn serious, and Gabriel notices that they have about sixty shades of green and hazel. They change color with whatever emotion their owner seems to be feeling at the moment, and now they’re a bit darker than they were when Gigantor came over. “I doubt that very much,” he says, and Gabriel can’t help the small thrill that he feels as he realizes that he’s having an actual conversation with quite possibly the most beautiful man on the face of the planet. 

“Oh you don’t know. I could be the biggest moron in here.” Gabriel winces, because really? If he really does want to get to know this guy better, surely the worst possible way to go about it is to be self-deprecating. It’ll make him sound like he’s fishing for compliments, which he so is not. 

“No, I don’t think so. You’ve got the entire inventory practically memorized, and you have an amazing knowledge about local authors,” Gigantor says, and then his cheeks are flushing red. “Um. So I’ve heard.” He stares down at his shoes.

“Oh really?” Gabriel says, and he leans forward, placing both elbows on the counter. “And what else have you heard?”

“A few things,” Gigantor says, and all his attention is focused on Gabriel now. It’s intense, but Gabriel just grins and suppresses the urge to wink. “I’ve heard, for example, that you get a break in about 15 minutes. And I’ve heard that you like mocha lattes with whip cream and chocolate flakes.”

Gabriel’s mouth falls open, because here he was thinking that he was harboring a hopeless, secret crush. “Will wonders never cease,” he says, and then he claps a hand over his mouth once he realizes that he’s spoken out loud.

Gigantor holds out his hand. “I’m Sam. Would you like to grab that mocha latte with me on your break?”

“Gabriel. And yes, Sam, I would like that very much.” Gabriel grabs Sam’s hand and squeezes. A small thrill of electricity travels up his palm straight to his heart. “Oh my.”

Sam grins. “Indeed.” 

“Get back to work!” Cas’s voice drifts up from the back of the store. Gabriel’s head snaps up and he realizes that there are two customers waiting behind Sam, who turns to see where the voice came from. They laugh together, and Sam says that he’ll see Gabriel in 10 minutes for the coffee.

Gabriel’s life just got infinitely more interesting.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you thank you thank you to [Lis](http://clotpoleofthelord.tumblr.com) for creating the glorious picture of Cas in his bookshop. And the glasses, OMG.

**Cas**

The thing is that Cas likes his life. He likes things just the way they are. Really. He's got his bookstore. He's got employees, and, for the most part, they're all pretty good at what they do.

He's got his family close by - Anna is amazing, working as a social worker with kids in the foster care system. Gabriel works for Cas, and they have fun...most of the time. Balthazar is the one who provides _Books and Crannies_ with all their pastries, which sell like.... well, like hotcakes, Cas supposes.

He loves, and he loves that this is a thing he gets to do. He gets to come into work and spend his day among books, making sure that they go off to a good home. He even gets to read books when he's not busy with running the store (which these days is actually not that frequently).

So why is it that when Cas sees Gabriel having coffee with the really tall customer, the one who comes in once a week or so and browses the history section, he's a little jealous?

Okay. Maybe more than a little.

Gabriel's smiling, and it's not his usually smarmy smirk, but a genuine smile that lights up his entire face. He and the giant are leaning in toward each other, creating a space at their table that's just for them, and Cas feels... what, longing? He knows that if he thought about it enough, he could correctly identify the small ache beneath his breastbone.

"It's probably in one of these books," Cas says to himself as he picks up the clipboard. He's got his to do list on there, the one that he makes every morning. He starts with a list of things that he's determined to accomplish throughout the day, and he checks them off as he goes. It's very satisfying, checking things off that list.

"You know that talking to yourself is often a sign of either madness or genius. Which one are you?" The voice that comes from behind Cas is deep, and there's a touch of a Texan lilt to it. Cas turns to face its owner, and startles when he sees the greenest eyes he thinks he's ever seen. His smile reaches up to his eyes and crinkles bracket them attractively.

It's cliche, Cas thinks to himself, but this man is beautiful. Cas inhales so quickly that he nearly chokes, breaking into a coughing fit. Well, there goes a great first impression. The green eyes grow concerned, and the man's brow draws together in a frown.

"Are you all right?" He thumps Cas on the back twice, and Cas nods, coughing once more.

"Yes, thank you." Cas straightens his sweater vest, a nervous gesture he'd picked up in college and hadn't quite let go of yet. "May I help you find something?"

"You sure you're all right? Is there a water fountain? I could get you some water," the man sounds genuinely concerned, and he's looking around for the water fountain.

"No, it's fine. I'm all right." Cas places his hand on the other man's arm, and then nearly snatches it away when he feels a jolt. Oh. So it does happen, Cas thinks. The man looks startled too, his eyes widening as he looks down at Cas's hand on his arm. They stare at each other for a minute, until someone clears their throat.

"Excuse me, but where can I find the latest Tamora Pierce novel?" There's another customer behind them, a young woman with cropped red hair and glasses. She takes in the two men standing before her and smiles shyly at them.

"In young adult fantasy fiction. Over by the knight," Cas replies, pointing. The woman thanks Cas and goes off in search of her book. Cas turns back to the man and says, "Now what can I help you find?"

He shakes his head with a smile, and says, "No need. I'm just waiting for my brother. He's having coffee." He points over at the coffee shop. Several people sit at tables, sipping coffee, but there are only two men, Cas's brother and, apparently, this man's brother.

"That's your brother?" Cas asks.

"Yeah, the tall one. Sam." The man quirks an eyebrow at Cas. "Why?"

Cas doesn't know whether to laugh or cry. Here Cas was thinking about how he was maybe just a teensy bit jealous of his brother having coffee with his dream customer, and it turns out that Gabriel’s man has a beautiful brother.

He opts for laughter, and, holding out his hand, he says, "Your brother is having coffee with my brother, Gabriel. I'm Cas."

"Nice to meet you, Cas. I'm Dean." Dean grasps Cas's hand in his own, and they shake. Cas's smile turns into a grin. The day just got much better.

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Dean**

Dean and Sam drive home, Sam sitting in the passenger seat of the Impala with a silly smile on his face. Dean is tempted to tease his brother about it, but when Sam heaves a soft, happy sigh, Dean can't find it in himself to do it. There's a dreamy expression gracing Sam's face that Dean hasn't seen in a while.

Dean turns on the radio, and isn't really surprised that Sam doesn't even complain. His little brother is a goner as far as Dean can tell. The good part of this is that it means that while Sam's lost in his thoughts, Dean can be lost in his own, which suddenly are preoccupied with a certain bespectacled bookshop owner.

The deep voice reminiscent of whisky and smoke echoes in Dean's mind, sending sparks up and down his spine. Dean's never given credence to the idea of love at first sight, but he sure as hell believes in lust at first sight.

And that's all it is. Because if Dean had a checklist of things that turned him on, Cas of Books and Crannies would have a tick mark next to just about every single item. Blue eyes? Check. Messy brown hair? Check. Goofy grin? Check. Glasses and generally nerdy? Check and check. It's as if someone had totted up Dean's list and made Cas, just for him.

Which is, of course, absolutely ridiculous.

Dean shakes his head, trying to get his mind off the sexy bookshop owner, with little success. Dean scrubs his face and forces his concentration back onto the road ahead. He turns into the garage under the building where he and Sam share an apartment. He'd bribed the building super into giving him a prime parking spot. Back in the far corner of the underground garage, next to the wall, it's the perfect spot for his baby. Sam grumbles frequently about how far from the stairs the spot is, but Dean cheerfully ignores him.

The two bedrooms in their shared apartment are barely larger than closets, but it's really all they can afford. They love their jobs, but neither of them earns enough to get an apartment on their own. This is more convenient, and frankly, they're so used to living together, on top of each other, really, that this is no different.

As a speechwriter for the local congressman, Sam earns enough to get by, and Dean's always said that Sam's going places. Dean knows that Sam could be more than a state representative's speech writer, that he's destined for greatness some day - maybe even his own political office, but Sam usually brushes off Dean's enthusiasm with a wave of his hand. Sam's content where he is - for now - knowing that he's making a difference in the district.

Dean's a reporter, but he has aspirations to be a novelist. Several unfinished manuscripts languish on his laptop, all at varying degrees of done-ness. Some he abandoned practically before they were out of the starting gate and others he'd slogged his way through for thousands upon thousands of words. He's got over three hundred thousand words of... well, something that could possibly be a novel, but right now he's shoved it to the back burner. He's on the political beat for the paper, and things seem to be heating up with local politics.

Aside from the usual local ordinances - swan crossings, for crying out loud - there have been rumors lately that the congressman - the very representative that Sam works for - has been cheating on his wife. There's even been some gossip that the affair isn't just a lark. Dean doesn't care either way who the congressman is doing, but sex sells papers, and those sales are what keeps his salary coming at the end of every other week. It's not something he can just ignore, much as he wants to.

In J-school, he was a typical journalism student. High ideals, fighter of the good fight, purveyor of great truths. He was going to be the next Woodward and Bernstein. Okay, just Woodward. He was going to break a story wide open when he was young and be set for life. He'd write books about his story, dine out on it, and spend his days on the talk show circuit.

But the thing is, that sort of story is a once in a lifetime story, and they tend not to come around that frequently. And when they do, there's always fifty other reporters sniffing around, shoving microphones and recorders in the faces of the main players. Information moves at the speed of light these days, and the kind of reporting that Woodward and Bernstein did back in the 1970s just couldn't possibly happen anymore.

So Dean has resigned himself to the fact that he isn't going to break a big story, and instead concentrates on the stories that are the local rag's bread and butter. He covers local politics, and is the only reporter on staff who does, which means that he has to worm his way into the offices of the mayor, state legislature members and their local congressman. That Sam is in the bedroom next door is just a happy coincidence.

Or, it would be, if Sam would ever actually become a source.

No amount of wheedling or cajoling on Dean's part gets him to open up, though, and it's damn frustrating.

Dean slams the door to the Impala just a touch too hard, earning him a sharp glance from Sam. Dean shrugs, hoping that Sam will go back to mooning about the new man in his life (Dean makes a mental note to grill Sam over dinner. No sense in letting his skills go completely to waste). Sam does, and Dean follows along behind him as they trudge up the stairs to their fourth floor walk up.

They pass the doors of their neighbors on the way, the mingled scents of dinner filling the hallway with an odd melange of curry, garlic, peppers and roasted tomatoes. Dean's stomach rumbles, even though the combination is not really that appetizing. It's been a long time since lunch. Meeting Cas had distracted Dean from his one of his original goals upon entering Books and Crannies: to try some of the pastries that were on sale in the cafe.

Most of the time, Dean’s the one who cooks, and today is no exception. He dumps his satchel on the living room floor and washes his hands before sticking his head in the fridge. A lonely apple sits on the shelf, there’s a half-empty container of sour cream, and some leftover roast chicken. It’s not very appealing, but there’s not much else on offer.

“Pizza?” Dean asks, closing the refrigerator door.

“Not pepperoni. I can’t handle more pepperoni,” Sam replies before trudging down the hall to his room.

Dean punches the number of the pizza place into his phone and places the order, choosing sausage instead of pepperoni. Sam will probably complain, but since he specifically mentioned pepperoni, Dean figures he’s okay. Besides, who doesn’t have some kind of meat product on their pizza?

The pizza arrives in due course, and they eat at the tiny table in the open area between the kitchen and the living room. Sam still has that dreamy smile on his face.

Dean waits while Sam finishes his slice of pizza, and then he says, "So, your boss got any time in his schedule next week?"

Sam wipes his hands on a paper towel, frowning. "For what?"

"Tea with the queen." Dean rolls his eyes. "An interview, Sam. That's generally what reporters want from politicians."

"Then no."

"What? Dude. You didn't even look."

Sam lifts one shoulder in a half shrug, the lightness from earlier replaced by irritation. "I'm his speech writer, not his press secretary. You want an interview? You call Nancy Fitzgerald." Sam takes a sip of his soda and eyes Dean over the lip of his glass. "You know that."

It's Dean's turn to shrug.

"You thought what – I'd be so over the moon because of Gabriel, that I'd forget what my job is? That's low, Dean, even for you."

To his credit, Dean doesn't try to defend himself. "It was worth a try," he says with a cocky grin.

"No. It wasn't. We've been over this Dean. You can't take advantage of the fact that we're brothers. I could lose my job."

"What? No, that..." Dean scoffs.

"Yes. I've already had to tell my boss _twice_ that the fact that my brother is a political reporter isn’t a conflict of interest. Leave me out of it, Dean."

"Dude, what's the point of having a brother who works for the local congressman if I can't..."

Sam shoves back from the table. "I didn't take this job for you, Dean." He throws the paper towel on the table. "What's wrong with you? You used to get that." He storms out of the kitchen, and a moment later, Dean hears the door to Sam's room slam shut. The resulting silence weighs heavily on Dean.


	4. Chapter 4

**Gabriel**

Gabriel whistles a jaunty tune as he opens the door to _Books and Crannies_. He's on time (for once), and he's neatly dressed. He combed his hair, and even washed behind his ears.

Not that he's anticipating seeing anyone or anything.

Cas is, of course, already in the store, frowning at something on the laptop in front of him.

"Hey, bro!" Gabriel says. He slings his satchel into the cubby beneath the front counter and leans on his elbows next to Cas. "What's got your panties in a bunch this morning?"

Cas makes an irritated snorting sound. Pointing at the laptop screen, he says, "This shipment should have been here yesterday."

"So? Shipments are late all the time. All that matters is that they get here, right?"

"Normally, yes," Cas says. "But we're having a book launch party on Friday."

"We are?" Gabriel asks, intrigued.

Cas gives Gabriel an exasperated look. "Yes. You put up posters in the library for it last month." A thought occurs to Cas. "You _did_ put the posters up, didn't you?"

Gabriel thinks. "Now that you mention it, I seem to recall something... That's this week?"

"Yes. You said you'd help out. Balthazar is making extra pastries. I need you to get people seated and make sure that there's enough coffee and stuff." Cas taps his pen lightly against his ever-present clipboard. "You are going to be here on Friday, right?"

Gabriel groans silently. He is supposed to go out with Sam on Friday. He woke up thinking about it - a proper date, and now it looks like he'll have to cancel. Postpone. Unless... Gabriel sneaks a peek at Cas, who is nibbling on his lower lip, his eyes bloodshot and heavy with fatigue. No, that won’t go over well.

"Of course!" Gabriel says with false cheer. "I promised, didn't I? Besides, I wouldn't want to miss the newest... What's the book?"

"J. K. Rowling. It's a new book in the world of Harry Potter." Cas looks skeptical.

"Right! Rowling. Love her. Good old J.K.!"

"Uh huh. Listen, can you get the coffee started and open the shop? I'm going to call the distributor."

Gabriel nods  glad that Cas isn't going to call him on his blatant lie. He starts a pot brewing, and eyes the pastries. There's a particularly yummy looking cannoli, but as he's about to pick it up, Cas yells from the back of the shop. "And don't touch the cannoli! I saved one for you for later."

Gabriel's oddly touched that Cas remembered how much he loves cannoli. The spring is back in his step as he opens the door. Usually there's one or two people out front, eagerly waiting for Cas to open the shop, and today is no exception. They're regulars, an older gentleman who does his crossword over a pastry every morning, and a single dad with his one year old twins. They come as frequently as they can and spend a good hour or so in the children's section. The father, Andrew, usually just reads to the twins, a boy and a girl, seldom buying a book. Cas doesn't mind them spending the time and not purchasing anything, arguing that it's better to instill the love of reading now. The twins can come back later when they have their own money to spend.

Gabriel nods to the regulars, and goes back to the front counter. He tidies up the two piles behind the counter: a few pens for credit card receipts, and a stack of scratch paper for writing down requests. Most of the business of the shop has long since been computerized, thanks to Charlie, another regular who had offered to help them set up a computer system. She'd refused to take cash for her time, instead, she'd requested that they set aside a copy of any book by her favorite authors so she could always get a copy.

It's a slow morning, which isn't unusual, given that it's a Tuesday. Gabriel doesn't mind the slowness of the day most of the time, but today the minutes are crawling by at a snail's pace, and he's eager for his break so he can call Sam. He wants to make alternate plans before Sam's weekend gets filled up.

Finally, it's (just about) time for his break. The second Gabriel sees Cas step out of his office, Gabriel digs into his satchel for his cell phone and makes a beeline for the door. He punches in Sam's number.

"Winchester," Sam says on the other end of the line. Gabriel's insides do a funny little flop at the sound of Sam's voice, melted chocolate in his ear.

"Hey Sammitch," Gabriel says. Sam's answering laugh is low, tickling at the base of Gabriel's spine.

"Gabriel. How are you?"

"Great!" Gabriel hesitates. "Well actually, I have to reschedule our date Friday night." Gabriel can hear Sam shuffling papers, but the sound pauses as Gabriel finishes his sentence.

"Tired of me already? I thought I'd at least get until after the first date." Sam's tone is carefully light.

"No, no. No! I just forgot that I have to work Friday night. Cas is having a book launch for some author's new release. Bowling?"

Sam laughs, a husky sound. "Rowling. I thought her new book wasn't due out until next week."

"Apparently not."

"I was going to go to that. Why don't I come, help you and your brother out, and then we can grab dessert afterward?"

"Marry me, Sam."

Sam laughs again, and Gabriel decides that he is going to make it his life's mission to get Sam to laugh as much as possible. It's a glorious, sexy sound.

"We should probably have a couple more dates first," Sam says.

"Anything, you name it,"Gabriel replies. "See you Friday then."

"Yep. Friday."


End file.
